


The Devil's Kiss

by Kotori_Sonoda



Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Action, Demons, F/F, Supernatural - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-06-06 18:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15201011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kotori_Sonoda/pseuds/Kotori_Sonoda
Summary: Yoshiko Tsushima, self-proclaimed fallen angel, gets tangled into a web of supernatural events involving her own friends.also posted on FF.net under the same title





	1. Chapter 1

September 19, 1999  
It had been raining all day.  
Marianne Ohara looked outside the window of the car.  
I hope it’s not an ill omen of things to come…  
She tapped the driver’s shoulder. “Hurry up, please.”  
“Of course, madam.”  
Marianne Ohara belonged to a family of demon hunters. She and her hushband are among the elite, skilled hunters who have brought down countless demons.  
Now her friend has called for her aid.  
She shook her head. That woman, seriously, what has she gotten herself into this time?  
Making such a deal like that…  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the car stopping.

 

“We are here, madam.”  
Marianne quickly opened the door despite the rain. Her driver also opened his door and grabbed an umbrella. “Madam, you will get wet!”  
Marianne ignored him, running straight towards the small house.  
Finally she got to the door and opened it. Her driver stopped beside her, still holding the umbrella even though they’re now safely in the house’s porch.  
“Madam, in all seriousness, if you get sick, the master will-“  
Marianne opened the door to the house. The inside had a very sinister feel, and she could hear someone screaming at one of the rooms. Giving childbirth. Some people were milling around the house, either holding guns or praying.  
Two of them noticed her and greeted her.  
“Ma’am, we’ve already set up guard, but we are not sure if it’s enough,” one of them said.  
“You did a good job,” Marianne replied. “Let me handle the rest.”  
The driver stood by the door, uncertain.  
“Take care of my daughter for me, just in case,” she said.  
the driver was taken aback. “But madam, you and the master-“  
“We’ll be back,” Marianne said, holding a pistol. “But just in case, you know?”  
The driver sighed. “Very well, madam. I’ll be waiting in the car.”  
Marianne loaded her gun with blessed bullets and went to the bedroom.

 

The bedroom was even more chaotic than the living room.  
On the bed lying down was her friend, Chizuru, currently giving childbirth.  
Doctors under the pay of their organization were currently helping her. These doctors are also demon hunters, and underneath their robes are pistols to be used in case of emergency.  
“Dear…”  
Marianne saw her hushband, Joseph, watching. She saw the rosary in his hand. He was using prayer to make a barrier, hopefully to repel the demon.  
“What has your friend gotten into?” Joseph asked. “What she did was very dangerous.”  
Marianne shook her friend. Chizuru was a woman who was unsure of herself and wanted the confidence to succeed in life. Unfortunately her desperation made her easy prey.  
“It’s too late for that now. We need to protect her.”  
Finally one of the doctors signaled them. It is time.  
Chizuru gave one last scream, and a baby was in the doctor’s hands. A young girl.  
Marianne and Joseph were alert. If Everything went according to plan, nothing would happen.  
But then again…  
Marianne heard chaos outside the room. There were several shouts and gunshots, then silence.  
Lightning suddenly filled the room, hitting several objects and some of the doctors, knocking them out instantly. Another doctor grabbed his pistol and aimed at the cloud of smoke, but he knew it was am empty threat-there was no way he could hit a cloud with his bullets.  
The doctor holding the baby backed into a corner.   
“Give her to me.”  
“Not on my watch. Dear!” Marianne shouted.  
Her husband started praying, attempting to contain the huge entity.  
Blue swirls of energy started to gather around the entity, trying to trap it.  
“Pathetic human. You think this is good enough?”  
The a hand shape formed from the smoke and struck down Joseph, hitting his arm. Joseph shouted in pain as he dropped his rosary. The demon hit him again at the shoulder with lightning, this time knocking him out.   
“Joseph!” Marriane aimed at the smoke entity. “You bastard!”  
The demon paid her no heed and instead focused on the doctor holding the child.  
He grabbed the doctor holding the gun with his smoky hand. Despite being made of smoke, he had no difficulty doing so.  
“Die.”  
Lightning surged from the hand into the body of the doctor, whose body shook with electricity. The doctor would have screamed but the demon’s hand covered his face. Finally when the doctor was dead, the demon gestured at the doctor holding the baby.  
“Give her to me.”  
“No!” Marianne shot, betting that since the demon was able to hold the doctor, it can be hit with bullets.  
It hit the smoke and the demon reacted to it, facing her.  
“You dare challenge me? Very well. Take this!”  
The demon attacked with lightning. Marianne dodged and fired a few more shots at it. The demon accepted the hits, not even flinching. It responded with another lightning blast, and this time it hit its mark, hitting Marianne’s leg, the pain causing her to collapse to the ground and let go of her pistol.  
The demon, satisfied, focused his attention on the baby. The doctor holding it pointed her gun at the demon, but she was too afraid to move. The demon picked the baby up. “She will suffice.”  
Suddenly a glowing energy circle appeared below him.  
“What’s this?”  
Marianne Ohara will not go down without a fight. She promised to protect her friend.  
“Marianne..” Joseph was coming too when he heard what Marianne was saying and realized what was happening.  
“No, no! Don’t do that! Marianne!”  
Marianne looked at her hushband. “I love you, dear…”  
There was a huge explosion as the demon was sucked backed into the dark dimension from which it came, and then there was silence.

Operatives from the Ohara family later helped cover up the incident. Both the child and the mother made it to safety, and the two had been living peacefully since then.


	2. Chapter 2

Yoshiko Tsuhima-or Yohane, as she kept on insisting to her friends- is one unlucky girl. Whenever it rains, she forgets her umbrella. She always misses the bus. Recently though it seems like her luck was turned. She thought back to that fateful night when she gathered the courage to confess to her beloved Riri! Riri-, real name Riko Sakurauchi, is Yoshiko’s senior and fellow school idol. The two had grown closer over the past few months and Yoshiko finally decided to confess to Riko.  
And Riko said yes! Yoshiko smiled, remembering that memory.  
So why it then, that Riko is is now acting distant towards her? She couldn’t understand it. Surely Riko still loves her. After all…  
“Ms. Tsushima. Ms. Tsushima!”  
Yoshiko was snapped out of her thoughts by the teacher, who was looking rather impatient.  
“Ms. Tsushima, kindly read the second paragraph.”  
Yoshiko scrambled to open her book and look for the required reading. The teacher just shook her head. “Forget it. Kurosawa, you read.”  
The teacher then looked at Yoshiko and said, “next time, Tsushima, pay attention or else.”  
Yoshiko sighed. Truly, her good luck has run out again…

 

“I don’t get it, Zuramaru!” Yoshiko said over lunch. She and her two best friends, Hanamaru Kunikida and Ruby Kurosawa, were eating lunch. The two of them were listening to Yoshiko vent.  
“I mean, I confessed, we love each other! There shouldn’t be any problem with that, right?”  
Hanamaru nodded.  
“See, so why is Riri avoiding me?”  
“Maybe she has some kind of problem?” Ruby suggested.  
“She could have asked for my help! At least let me know,” Yoshiko replied.   
Hanamaru was keeping silent.   
“Hey, Zuramaru! Your thoughts?”  
“Well… what if it’s a problem you can’t help with, zura?”   
“Huh?” Yoshiko gave it some thought. “Well, I still want to know. We are in a relationship after all, if I can at least show my support… yeah, that’s it, I can’t take it anymore. I’m gonna go after class and ask Riri about it!”  
The bell rang, indicating that lunchbreak is over.  
Yoshiko started to get up. “Come on, let’s back to class!”  
As Yoshiko and Ruby started to leave, Hanamaru just stared at their retreating forms.  
“Riko-chan’s lucky to have a girl like you, Yoshiko-chan…”  
Yoshiko heard her. “What was that?”  
“Err, nothing, zura. Come on, let’s go back!”

 

Yoshiko was determined to get to the bottom of this. Classes were over but she knew Riko liked to stay behind to play the piano at the music room. Eventually she got to the music room.   
She heard the sounds of gasping and panting.  
What the hell…  
“I can’t do this anymore, Hanamaru-chan…”  
“Come on Riko-chan. You can do it! Just a little more…”  
Yoshiko could feel herself blushing. What are they doing in there?  
She barged in, opening the door.  
“Zuramaru! Riri!”  
She stared at one of the most bizarre scenes she had seen, and this is coming from someone who does livestreams as a fallen angel.  
Hanamaru was wearing shrine maiden garb, kneeling over RIko, who was sitting down, leaning on the wall.  
Also, Riko has a small pair of horns on her head, and the wall she’s kneeling on seems to be burning.  
“What the hell…”

“Ah, Yoshiko-chan!” Hanamaru stood up, and walked towards her, trying to push her out of the room.  
Yoshiko refused to move. “Zuramaru, what is happening here?” She pushed her way past Hanamaru and towards Riko. “What the hell is this, some kind of weird cosplay?”  
She reached out to touch Riko, but she immediately pulled her hand back. It was like there was a weird hot aura around her.  
“Aah! What was that, that burns!”  
“Yocchan!” Riko spoke for the first time. “Are you okay?” Worry was on her face. That, and fear.  
“Yes, I’m fine…” Yoshiko said.  
Hanamaru approached Riko again. “Stand back a bit, Yoshiko-chan.”   
She kneeled to face Riko at eye level. “You have to calm down,” she said. “Yoshiko-chan deserves to know, we hid this for longer than we should have.”  
“Yes… but….”  
Yoshiko didn’t know what was going on. She watched this display with a rising level of curiosity and some anger at Riko, for hiding such a thing from her. But at the same time, it seemed like Riko only did so for her safety. She wanted answers, but that could come later. For now, she need to do something. “Riri, hold my hand.” She held her hand out.  
“But Yocchan, you might get burned-“  
Yoshiko only shook her head and struck her fallen angel pose. “You underestimate a fallen angel! I can handle such a thing.”  
“Yoshiko-chan, what are you doing?” Hanamaru said.   
“It’s Yohane!” Yoshiko corrected her friend. “And trust me.”  
She reached out to Riko. Again that hot aura assaulted her. She winced in pain, but she held it in.  
“Yocchan!”  
“No worries, Riri…. Take my hand…”  
Riko complied. Yoshiko’s already feeling so much pain at this point, but she really tried to hold it in.  
“So, Riri… can you calm down? You can do it… if you’re worried what I’ll think… I’m willing to listen,” she said between breaths as she tried to hold in the pain she’s experiencing.  
Hanamaru picked up on this. “RIko-chan, focus now. Just like we’ve always done before. You can do it, Yoshiko-chan is supporting you!”  
Yoshiko gritted her teeth. “It’s Yo-ha-ne!”  
RIko smiled at that. Yoshiko could finally feel the air cooling down around her, until it wasn’t hot anymore. The small horns have also disappeared.   
Finally she let go of Riko’s hand.  
“Owww,” she said, waving her hand around. “I knew you were hot, but not that hot!”  
Hanamaru smiled. “Well I guess we are done for today. I’ll go tell Mari-san.”  
“Mari? She’s into this as well!?” Yoshiko said.  
Hanamaru covered her mouth. “Oops. I messed up, zura.”  
“So, is it alright if I can get answers, or-“  
“Yes, I’ve hidden this from you for a long time already…” Riko said. “Hanamaru-chan, you can go report to Mari-san about this… for now, let me speak to Yocchan.”  
Hanamaru nodded and left them alone.

Yoshiko sat next to Riko, leaning on the wall.  
“So, about those horns… are you… a…”  
“Well, I’m a demon.”  
Yoshiko threw her an amused glance. “All this time, I’ve been calling people little demons, and my girlfriend is one?”  
“Well, half demon,” Riko admitted. “My mother made a deal with someone she shouldn’t have… I was the result. The Oharas have always supported us, since our familes were close back then. In fact that’s why I moved here.”  
“Wait, isn’t wasn’t the piano thing?” Yoshiko asked.  
Riko laughed. “Oh, it was also the piano thing! I really did need a change of scenery and inspiration. But, being so close to a family trained in the mystic arts really helps me control my demonic side. Especially now that I have a girlfriend.”  
The pieces are starting to fall into place in Yoshiko’s head.  
“Wait… so are you telling me… that you can’t control your demonic side because you’re horny for me.”  
RIko blushed. “What? No, no! Really! But whenever I think of you, it’s, uh… and especially when we became girlfriends, I, uh…”   
Yoshiko grinned. “That is adorable, you know?”  
Riko blushed even harder. “Really now! I’m telling you-“  
“Well, don’t worry. I won’t pry into your reasons,” Yoshiko said, while throwing Riko a knowing look,  
“So why didn’t you tell me?”  
“Well. I’m not sure how you would have reacted! And I was worried that I will, uh… lose control…”  
At this Yoshiko started laughing. “Lose control? And do what, hmmmm?”  
“Yocchan! Not like that! Geez!” Riko started covering her face in embarrassment.  
“Well if that’s the case, Yohane forgives you,” Yoshiko said. “If you’re worried what I think, well, you’re still my Riri. That’s never changed! I still love you.”  
“Yocchan…”  
The door opened again.  
Mari walked in, a serious look on her face.  
“Mari!” Yoshiko got up. “You all hid this from me, did you ever think-“  
Yoshiko stopped when she saw Mari pull out a pistol.  
“Mari! What the-“  
Mari walked towards RIko and pointed her pistol at her.  
“Mari-san…” Riko just looked at the blonde.  
“You know this needed to be a secret. I didn’t want to bring any other people into this. If this spreads, then I have no choice now, do I?”   
RIko stared at the barrel of the gun pointed at her.  
“Yes, I understand.”  
Mari put away the pistol and started walking towards the door.  
“Then I hope this doesn’t happen again.”   
Yoshiko just stared at Mari's back, wondering what exactly did she get herself into.


	3. Chapter 3

Mari drank some tea as she looked out the window of the principal’s office.  She watched as Riko and Yoshiko went home, the two of them animatedly talking – mainly Yoshiko, asking a lot of questions to the increasingly embarrassed Riko.  
Mari sighed.  
“Quite a day, huh, zura?”  
Hanamaru entered the room, now back in her school uniform.   
“I wanted to minimize knowledge of this to only the two of us.”  
“But now Yoshiko-chan knows. See, she’s been a great help already, zura.”  
Mari sat down and placed the teacup on the principal’s table.  
“Yes, but how long until she starts blabbing about it? You know how dangerous it can be if the demons find out Riko’s location. Tch. If I had my way that girl would be dead already.”  
“Is that really how it is, zura?” Hanamaru asked.   
“What do you mean?” Mari said.  
“Mari-san, you’re in the same idol group as her, the same sub-unit even…  you had all the chance to do it.”  
“Oh, shut up,” Mari replied. She looked at Hanamaru. “You know, I’lm still surprised how mature you can be sometimes. Hard to believe you’re the same person who gets so amused with technology.”  
“And it’s hard to believe you’re our group jokester, zura,” Hanamaru said.   
She turned to exit the room.  
“I have to home, it’s getting late.”  
“Very well, stay safe,” Mari said.   
As Hanamaru left, Mari looked at the framed picture on her desk, showing both her parents.  
She thought back to when she was assigned to this mission.

 

_Mari had been taking her education overseas. The best training facilities for demon hunters were also overseas too, so it killed two birds with one stone._  
“What? Take care of her?” Mari looked at her father, who was sitting behind his desk and looking at her with a serious face.  
“Yes… she’ll be moving to Uchiura soon. It’s a great opportunity for you.”  
“Opportunity! You want me to go… and watch over her…” Mari was seething with rage. “She’s the reason mom is dead, isn’t she? And you want me to stay with her!”  
Her father raised his hands, trying to calm her down. “That wasn’t her fault and you know that.” Her father brushed one of his hands on his graying hair.   
“She’s a demon!” Mari said. “They’re all the same.”  
“Half demon,” her father corrected. “And no, they’re not. Especially a half like her. Trust me, she’s really well behaved.”  
“As if!” Mari said. “You don’t seriously want me to believe that?”  
“She spent her early years in Tokyo without incident. You need to grow up, Mari. That’s why I’m assigning you this mission.”  
Mari looked unconvinced.  
“Plus, aren’t your friends there too? This would be a great time to see them.”  
This gave Mari some thought. She’d really like to see her friends again, but at the cost of being with that girl…  
“Alright, fine. I’ll do it this time,” she finally relented.  
“Good,” her father said. “Apparently there’s an apprentice shrine maiden in the area. I’ve already contacted her and she’s willing to help.”  
Mari zoned out at that time. Yes, she would watch over that girl, but she’ll also be waiting for her  chance, any chance to take her out.

 

At least that was the plan. Riko Sakurauchi quickly gained a small group of friends and even became a school idol. As someone who dabbled in the idol industry in the past, she decided to assist them, using her position as the school director. She didn’t expect to become an idol herself once again, but she excused it, saying it’s a chance to get closer to her still. She’s even in the same subunit!  
 Mari sighed. She’s losing sight of her mission.

 

LATER THAT NIGHT – NUMAZU

The security guard yawned. He was already halfway through his shift. Just a few more hours till he can sign out.   
_Why did I even agree to this job anyway…_   
He guarded an antiques store in the city of Numazu. There really wasn’t anything much of value here but the owner was a paranoid man. And they did sometimes get valuables here.   
He gave the shop a look around before sitting back near the entrance, reading a magazine. He suddenly heard a noise and stood up to take a look, before he felt pain and everything went black.

 

 

MORNING- NUMAZU  
_I’m late, I’m late…_  
Once again, Yoshiko was being burdened with terrible luck. What happened last night, it kept her up for way too long. Riko was very happy that she was taking it well, and of course she would! After all, she’s the fallen angel, Yohane. Although deep down she knew that she was just pretending, doing make believe, she really wanted to believe that she had powers, that demons and magical creatures exist. And now, it turns out her girlfriend was one of them. She’s thrilled!  
_Well, I can’t wait to see Riri… damn, why are there so many people?_  
Up ahead a small crowd was gathered in front of a storefront. Yoshiko’s curiosity got the better of her, and she pushed her way through the crowd.  
It was an antique shop. The windows were broken, and some items were missing.  
_A robbery huh…_ Yoshiko thought. Then her eyes saw the dead body.  
The security guard’s head was rotated 360 degrees. Blood was scattered around his corpse and around the area where he fell.  There wasn’t much of a mess though, indicating that the attacker was fast enough to kill the guard without the guard noticing.  
“Man, look at that! That’s brutal!”  
“Oh god. I hope they catch who did this soon.”  
Yoshiko gulped. Great, more reasons to be afraid of walking home at night.  
She then remembered that she was late for school.  
Breaking off the crowd, she started running towards Uranohoshi, but the back of her mind was still on that crime.  
Not the best way to start the morning....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I blame Gran blue fantasy for this one taking so long


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh wow, this took longer than expected...

Riko was in high spirits today. She hummed as she arranged her things on her desk to prepare for the coming lessons.  
“What’s up, Riko-chan?” her friend Chika asked. “You seem rather cheerful today.”   
“What? Really?” Riko blushed. Was it that apparent?  
“Yeah,” Chika said. “You know, you seemed down these past few days but now you’re looking all better.”  
“It’s because she found love!”  
that came from her other friend, You Watanabe, who had a mischievous grin on her face.   
“You-chan!”   
“ahaha! Isn’t it true though? We saw her confess, you know,” You said.   
“You what!?” Riko was surprised, then embarrassed, that her friends would see that.  
“Don’t worry, we can give you tips if you like,” Chika said.  
Riko shook her head. “Thanks but no thanks!”  
“Right. I’m sure you can get tips from those doujins of yours,” You said.  
“What? How do you know about that!” Riko said.  
“It’s an open secret! We just don’t talk about it,” Chika explained.   
Riko sighed. Was she that transparent?  
Finally the teacher entered the room and started class, causing You and Chika to return to their respective seats.   
“So, You-chan and me will be staying a bit after school, she wants to swim some laps, see? I’m gonna provide her company. Please tell my mom I won’t be coming home early,” Chika said before the teacher started discussing. Riko nodded in agreement so as not to catch the teacher’s attention.

 

Finally lunchtime came, and Riko went up the rooftop. She went looking for Yoshiko.  
“Riri!”  
Riko spotted Yoshiko sitting on one corner.  
“Yocchan!”  
Riko sat beside her girlfriend and eargerly opened the lunchboxes she prepared.  
“Um, I made some sandwiches, and if you open up this one… Yocchan?” Riko saw that her girlfriend seemed distracted.  
“Sorry, it’s nothing,” Yoshiko said.  
Riko wasn’t going to fall for that.  
“Tell me the truth Yocchan.”  
Yoshiko sighed. “Fine. It’s nothing really, there was just this trouble in Numazu earlier, its why I was late. I’m sure the police has handled it by now.”  
Riko saw that she was telling the truth. “I see… well that’s good then.”  
“Now let’s eat, I’m getting hungry!” Yoshiko said as she eyed the food Riko prepared.  
“Wow, Riri, you made all this?” Yoshiko asked, her eyes already getting hungry.  
“Yeah, you can consider it my.. apology I guess? Since I was a bit distant these past few days,” Riko replied. “Because… you know.”  
“You made the fallen angel Yohane worry so much!” Yoshiko said with her typical chuunibyo mannerism. “As punishment, Yohane decrees that you spend time with her as much as possible!”  
Riko smiled. “As you wish, Yocchan.” She moved her face closer to Yoshiko and went for a kiss. Yoshiko was surprised but went along with it. It was a short but sweet kiss.  
“That may be enough for this fallen angel to forgive you,” Yoshiko said.  
Now that Yoshiko has found out the truth, it’s like a weight has been lifted off her chest. Really, what could possibly go wrong?  
At that moment Hanamaru approached them.   
Riko’s stomach inwardly turned. Hopefully it doesn’t have to do with-  
“Mari wants to see you, zura.”

 

Mari was sitting behind her principal’s desk. She was finishing a phone call, nodding a bit. Riko and Yoshiko were standing, Hanamaru beside them.  
“I hate to disrupt your lunchbreak, but I just came across this news.”  
Mari got a newspaper from a drawer and laid it on the table. The headline talks about the theft and murder that happened in Numazu.  
“Hey, that’s the one I saw this morning!” Yoshiko said  
Riko realized why Yoshiko was rattled earlier this day.  
The crime scene was gruesome. She felt sick to the stomach.  
“What does this have to do with me?” Riko asked.  
“That’s no ordinary crime,” Mari said. She pulled open a drawer and got a Ziploc bag with a black feather inside it.  
“What’s what? A feather from a crow? I didn’t know we had crows in Numazu,” Yoshiko said.  
“This is no ordinary crow,” Mari said. “This came from a demon.”  
Hanamaru nodded. “It’s the real deal.”  
“So, then, what’s this gotta do with us?” Yoshiko asked.  
Riko knew what was coming.  
“Its about me isn’t it? You think I had something to do with it?” Riko said.  
“I know you didn’t call the demon here,” Mari said. “I believe it was sheer coincidence that the demon ended up here, however we need to take precaution. It’s dangerous if the demon finds out you are here.”  
“Why?” Yoshiko asked. “Is Riri special or something?”  
“Classified,” Mari replied.  
“Classified!” Yoshiko said. “If this has something to do with her I think she needs to know.”  
Riko placed her hand on Yoshiko’s shoulders and shook her head. “It’s no use, she won’t tell me. Even Hanamaru-chan doesn’t know.”  
Hanamaru nodded to confirm this.  
“So fine, this demon can’t find Riri. What now?” Yoshiko said.  
Mari suddenly pulled out a handgun from underneath the desk and pointed it at Riko.   
Riko didn’t even flinch, although she noticed Yoshiko getting shocked.  
“Mari, what the hell! Put that down!” she said in a panicked tone.  
“We could end this right now…”  
Mari put the gun down. “But as I would say in idol practice, ‘it’s joke.’”   
Yoshiko breathed a sigh of relief. “What was that for?”  
“Hanamaru, go escort these two to Riko’s house,” Mari said.   
“What about you?” Yoshiko asked.  
“I’m going hunting.”

 

“Riri, what the hell! Why is Mari out for your blood so much?” Yoshiko said as the three of them walked to the Sakurauchi house.  
“She has her reasons,” Riko said. “She wasn’t all that happy to be assigned to guard me either. She just agreed to see Dia-san and Kanan-san again.”  
“Why are you so calm about this? She pulled a gun on you. Twice now, to my knowledge!”  
“She’s done that many times, but she never pulled the trigger, zura,” Hanamaru said. “I believe that she has gotten close to Riko-chan, she’s just afraid to admit it.”  
“I see…” Yoshiko said. “Mari sure is different when she’s like that… I mean, isn’t she usually this cheerful jokester? What’s up with that?”  
“Well, about that,” Riko said.”I was also surprised.” She started to tell Yoshiko back when she first met Mari.

 

Back when Mari first arrived in Uranohoshi to support the then-fledgling group Aqours, she seemed just like an eccentric rich girl. RIko was wary of the girl but sensed that she was a good person.  
Well, that is until Mari cornered her after their first live.  
She had just finished changing back into her school uniform. Chika and You had gone ahead, the two of them wanting to greet Chika’s sister who brought so many people for the audience.  
As Riko was about to leave, she noticed Mari standing in a corner.  
“Mari-san, when did you get-“  
“Just so you know, I was sent here to guard you.”  
Riko was surprised how serious the blonde is now. Not a trace of that fun loving persona can be found. Finally it clicked to Riko that Mari’s last name was Ohara.   
“Wait a minute, Ohara? Then-“  
“That’s right. I’m keeping my eyes on you,” Mari said. “if I deem it necessary, I can kill you right here right now. But I won’t.”  
Riko just stared at Mari, who stared back. Finally Mari headed towards the door.  
“Wait!” Riko said. “Why did you help us with our performance?”  
“I have my reasons,” Mari said.  
As it turned out, Mari was once a former school idol, and the eventual events that led to Aqours’ formation became both a way for her to fulfill her dream with her friends Dia and Kanan, and as a way to keep watch on Riko. Although Mari put up a friendly persona for everyone, once they were alone, Mari would always make it clear she was here as a guard.

 

“so that’s how it is, huh… she’s a complicated person, isn’t she?” Yoshiko said.  
“Yoshiko-chan, RIko-chan, catch!” Hanamaru said, tossing them something she took from her bag.  
“It’s Yohane! And.. what’s this?” yoshiko said.  
“That’s an amulet,” Hanamaru said. “Specifically a ‘ward evil amulet’. It should keep the two of you safe.”  
“Will this work on me though?” Riko asked. “I mean, I’m half demon…”  
“Don’t worry, zura!” Hanamaru said. “I prayed over that one to make sure it won’t harm you. I may be a novice miko but I’ll go above and beyond for my friends.”  
“Thanks, Hanamaru-chan,” RIko said.  
“No problem! I’m just more honest with my feelings, is all,” Hanamaru said, “Unlike a certain blonde.”  
Suddenly Hanamaru stopped walking.  
“Why’d you stop, Zuramaru?” Yoshiko asked.  
“Mari’s amulet… I’m sorry, I have to go. You two go home, okay? I need to help Mari, zura!”  
Yoshiko and Riko looked at Maru’s retreating figure. Riko could see Yoshiko’s head trying to decide on what to do.  
Shen then grabbed Riko’s hand and started running in Hanamaru’s direction.  
“Yocchan?”  
“Come on, let’s go!”  
“What are we supposed to do there!? We can’t help them!”  
The two realized Hanamaru was running back towards Uranohoshi.  
“Why Is she coming back? Don’t tell me…” Yoshiko said.  
Riko suddenly thought of You and Chika.   
She started running back, afraid of what might happen to her friends.


End file.
